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Re: Supply Drop - Please help

Yep. I had a Symphony for a bit over a year. I am planning to pump for at least 18 months, and I added what I spent, and it made more sense for me to buy my own hospital grade pump. But try it out, get your supply up and then decide what you want to do.

Re: Supply Drop - Please help

So I power pumped this weekend and also timed all of the other times, just to make sure that I was maximizing each session. All of this was done using the symphony. I have yet to really notice a significant difference, but I know I have read that it can take days to see results so I am just going to keep trying. How long should it take for me to know if this is successful?

Re: Supply Drop - Please help

wow, so much for instant gratification.....makes it very hard to keep workiing at so diligently with no rewards even in sight! I am hoping that you have a success story you could share with me to keep me motivated? Anyone else?

Re: Supply Drop - Please help

not with exclusive pumping but with pumping for my son while working 40+ hours week and taking medications to suppress milk production (Lupron: to treat a large fibroid tumor)

I'm not gonna lie it's HARD, it always will be, but if your are determined and make it your priority you can make it happen. oatmeal sometimes helped me with a tiny bit of instant gratification, though not much.

my power pumping was at night after my son had gone to sleep his longest stretch I would take a long hot shower and then go sit alone in the living room for about a full hour, I did get results and in the end it was that session that allowed me to continue feeding my son my milk. it is imperative that your power pumping session be at the same time each and every day (a 30 minute shift won't hurt but a 2 hour stretch would!) you are basically telling your body that there is a demand now where there was none.

at work It took me a minimum of 40 minutes to get a few ounces every time, and always I had to distract myself by reading.

Re: Supply Drop - Please help

thank you! just knowing that this worked for someone else is enough to make me keep doing it in hopes of achieving the same results. I am also doing my power pumping sessions at night after my son goes to bed. unfortunately, i don't have that much time at work each day, but my three 15 minute sessions worked in the past so I am hoping I can make those work again, too. thanks so much for sharing your story. i would still love to hear more from others!

Re: Supply Drop - Please help

I hit a wall at 9 months with baby #4. I have always, always had enough milk when nursing directly. But EPing is hard work. And at 9 months, I just didn't have enough sometimes. I tapped my freezer stash (thousands of oz, but I much prefer him to have fresh milk for the immune qualities) to make the difference. And I kept pumping. I got up in the middle of the night a few times, something I quit doing when he was 3-4 months old. I pumped while driving. I stopped using professional grade pumps as much as possible and used only a hospital grade. It took 2 full weeks to catch up. It was hard work, obsessive work on top of obsessiveness already. I made sure to pump at least 6 times, if not 8, in 24 hours for those 2 weeks. 120 or more minutes every single day. Pumping is so much worse than direct nursing for your supply..that is why it takes a lot more time and a lot more work than nursing.

Re: Supply Drop - Please help

One more thing, did anyone ever notice any significant differences even when they had just a tiny bit of caffeine? I still have one cup of coffee each morning when I first get to work, but I would definitely consider cutting it out if it could help.